Just a harmless giant from a foreign land.
Katsu calmly sat on the deck, watching the sea roar and occasionally sipping from the tea cup in her hand. She wore her usual garb in colors reminiscing her nation of origin, together with "liberated" Fire Army boots and armguards. As usual, her midriff was bared, showing her firmly trained bright flesh, sweat from her exercising a few minutes earlier still visible there and in her dark hair.
Their passenger had quickly retired the first time he had realized she didn't just dress like a Firebender, she was one. But Katsu had long ago stopped being angry, or ashamed, about people reacting that way. She did not blame them, but she would not cower or prostrate herself for the crimes of others simply because she came from the same homeland.
Looking upward to where Mizuki stood, Katsu noted the position of the sun and the apparent speed of their ship to guess how long it would take them to reach harbor.
Enough time for some more exercise. She thought, put down the tea cup and moved down into a form, ready to blast fire-streams over the side of the ship onto the waves again.
"You can reply to this Message!"
Prithvi sat high above the rest of the crew, situated in the Sea Dragon's crow's nest. A slanted Earth Kingdom helmet shielded him from the sunlight as he kept watch. From his position, he could see everything that happened on the ship's deck. Captain Mizuki was at the wheel, as usual, while small, systematic bursts of flame indicated that Katsu was training again. At first, he had been wary of the ex-soldier's firebending, thinking she was going to burn the ship down in the middle of the night or something sinister, but now he only jumped when he didn't expect it.
At first, Prith had felt weird being stationed so high up, and on the ocean no less. He was so used to being on or near solid ground at all times, that the crow's nest was a little disorienting the first few times he climbed up. He appreciated it more later, when he realized that he could see the whole world from here with his telescope. But for the moment, he was content just watching the activities on the deck.
lord of the gays
As the small, nearly bald 13-year-old head (and only) chef aboard the Sea Dragon, Mala was used to being accosted, whether for more rabbit-deer soup or another turtleduck sandwich, by his crewmates. B Ut today was different. They were bound for port, and had taken on food as they broke their prisoner out. He had the day off. He sat serenely behind Mizuki, who was at the wheel, face turned up to the sun, and bare, burned, forearms behind his head. He could hear Katsu's exercises down on the deck, and the slapping of waves against the hull.
OUT OF THE CROOKED TIMBER OF HUMANITY NO STRAIGHT THING WAS EVER BUILT
Sitting in one corner of the ship was the lonely looking figure of Shouren Midou. He simply watched them, for now, feeling like he should at least keep himself distanced. You never know what could happen, he told himself. You never know.
In as far as the mission went, it looked like everything had gone fine. However, he wondered if the Fire Nation would end up chasing after them by some means.
His tired looking eyes looked out at the sea - unlike Mizuki, he was unable to Bend Water in its natural state. That was the fault of dear father - and his emphasis on unique Bending styles and traits.
I wonder...what happened...to those people I ended up leaving behind?
Ah, he decided, he'd never know. The world keeps turning, and nothing would remain the same.
Sign on for this After The End Fantasy RP.
The Mighty Pen
It was well said Sharif mused, that with carefulness you realize your opportunity. Their prize was safe in the hold, and for that reason, most of the crew seemed to believe that their task was all but finished. It was also well said, the tribesman continued, finishing the slow stroke of his whetstone along the scimitar that lay across his knees, that winds blow counter to what ships desire. Should the man Zhu slip their sight for only a moment as they drew near to shore or somewhere between here and those who wished his return, his masters might well refuse Captain Mizuki her reward. Or perhaps Zhu's enemies awaited them in ambush. Whatever might come, Sharif was too well acquainted with the reversals of fortune for his spirit to soar with success, as the others did.
So it was that he sat upon a low stool with his back to the hatch that led down into the hold, his eyes on the great central cabin of the little ship. Another slow, rasping stroke of the whetstone, another few slivers of steel drifted to the floor. In the old days, he would have plucked a long hair from his head to split over the blade as a test of the edge. Now, he merely wiped away the remnants of steel dust and replaced the sword in its sheath, setting it up against the wall behind him. His work was not done yet, of course. No ship could long remain afloat without constant attendance. Right now, immobile as he was, his self-appointed task was picking apart fragments of torn rope for oakum, which would be used, along with tar and resin, to seal the gaps between boards. This was done for each part of the ship on a rotating schedule, so that no inside seam passed more than a month without being renewed. Such a long time would have been called lazy in his youth, but it sufficed. That word applied to everything about his life now, spent among the dregs of the sea. It sufficed.
A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent upon arriving. -Lao Tzu
Mizuki nodded with approval as she watched Sharif conscientious at work on ship maintenance. He truly is a loyal man, she noted.
Mizuki looked up and saw Prithvi in his crow's nest. With such a cautious, observant one such as him watching from above, she felt satisfied that anything hostile would be spotted long before it found them.
She also saw Katsu's firebending. Mizuki had accepted Katsu because she was a fugitive on the run and Mizuki wanted to help her. When she found out about Katsu's firebending, at first she did not know what to think and just distanced herself from her. Although Mizuki still mistrusts most firebenders, her prejudice no longer extended to Katsu after all they had been through.
Mizuki glanced at Shouren over in the ship's corner. His... abilities... still gave her the creeps. Despite Shouren having stayed on for over a year. Bloodbending just was not a thing one could get used to. And yet, Mizuki also saw the pain in Shouren's eyes. She tried to hug him once, but it only seemed to hurt him more. She knew there were scars on Shouren that would not heal - both in the body and mind.
She turned around and saw Mala. "Oh, there you are! I just wanted to say that was some neat firebending you did back there with your nostrils. The guard never saw it coming. Heheheh!"
lord of the gays
Mala opened his eyes and smiled gently to his captain.
"Thank you. No one ever does." With that he got up and stretched his small body, and put his too-large Earth kingdom tunic back on, and walked over to stand beside Mizuki.
"How long, now? Until we get to port?"
OUT OF THE CROOKED TIMBER OF HUMANITY NO STRAIGHT THING WAS EVER BUILT
Mizuki did some calculations. "The Fire Nation prison is nearly seventy leagues away, and it is little more than twenty five leagues until land. Since we left the prison about four hours before, that gives us..." She absent mindedly curled a lock of hair in thought. "Two hours, since I'm not waterbending the currents to pick up speed".
edited 22nd Oct '14 8:09:25 AM by JumpinJackFlash
lord of the gays
Mala nodded, squinting to the horizon. He thanked her, suddenly pensive, and walked to the back of the boat, leaning over the railing to watch the wake left by their passage.
OUT OF THE CROOKED TIMBER OF HUMANITY NO STRAIGHT THING WAS EVER BUILT
Wizard of science.
The hatch leading into the hold slowly opened, and out of it slithered the ship's chronicler, Xue Shehui, making no sound as he left the hold with a few parchments under his arm, the writing tools neatly arranged in a pouch he carried with his other hand. "I have finished registering the events with the help of our..." He clicked his tongue, looking back at the hatch. "... friend." He put an emphasis on the last section of that word, his eyes staring straight at Sharif's sheath.
"I do hope you are enjoying your current task. I predict it'll be some time until we arrive at our destination. And if anything this ship's records can prove is that bad events are attracted to us like insects are attracted to fire." Xue said, rubbing his chin, pulling on a non-existent beard and letting his words linger. "Perhaps I have attracted the wrath of some vengeful spirit by uttering these words. Or perhaps I should find the Captain and work out our expenses for the next few days, what with the reward we will receive..."
edited 22nd Oct '14 7:23:15 PM by TheBigBean
The Mighty Pen
Sharif only glanced over his shoulder once to ensure that the man exiting the hold was not their passenger, then returned his gaze to his work. Xue was a mystery to the tribesman. Had he been a warrior, he would have been such a man that could cut down a dozen opponents and behave as though they were no more than bundles of straw. Sharif saw that emptiness in him. But he was only a scholar, and a criminal at that, no more than all the rest here on this ship. Yet still he carried himself and spoke as one with great power behind him. Perhaps he understood something Sharif did not or perhaps he simply knew no other way to live. The tribesman did not care, either way.
He did not understand what was to be learned from writing down the facts of what they had done, and so he said nothing about that. To Xue, he spoke in his usual quiet murmur, looking up to meet the other man's eyes as he did so. He had not abandoned all civilized behavior yet.
"There is no power and no strength, save in the spirits that rule us all," he said, reciting the most often-heard precept of the Si Wong tribes. "What use is there to worry about anything? You should not speak lightly of demon spirits, though. There are many stories of their wrath in the Si Wong." There was no heat in his words, only a dull sincerity. He shrugged. "As to your task, do as you will, so long as it is done. A good captain will reward diligent service."
A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent upon arriving. -Lao Tzu
Bark Bark Man
While others were busy talking and socializing up above, Lanyin was busy making sure her stores of toxins and poisons were restocked and ready to use. A mortar and pestle in hand, she ground up some herbs she had found near the prison during the mission. It was a good thing those prisoners didn't seem to have an intimate knowledge of herbology, or many more of them might end up dead.
Now that she thought about it, she didn't actually know what time it was. She had been at this for a while now, and she resigned to stop after the one she was currently working on. She couldn't just leave her work, but she could take a break. Breaks always helped reset the tiredness of the mind.
After a few more minutes, Lanyin came up to the deck, her refilled bag once more at her side. The crimson-filled vial around her neck shone in the noontime sunlight.
edited 23rd Oct '14 3:37:39 AM by amporiusrex
"Gimme your pants.. and now your other pants"
Just a harmless giant from a foreign land.
Sending a fnal stream of fire into the waves, Katsu stopped and moved into a ready position, focusing on her breath for a few moments, before grabbing her tea and walking up to Mizuki and the rest, wiping sweat of her forehead.
"Do we have a plan for delivering our...guest, yet?"
"You can reply to this Message!"
"Well, first things first we will need to find a secluded area to hide our ship. This means we'll have to pick our way through the rocky shore to get to where we're going," replied Mizuki after a bit of thought. Her intense gaze met Katsu's, and locked on.
"As for meeting with the Saltcliff Lords, the only way to get to them is to Earthbend a tunnel in a secret place not far from the outskirts of Basalt Bay." Mizuki paused when she realised that Katsu would get suspicious as to how she knew so much about finding such ruthless crime lords. "I have been employed by them before," she admitted truthfully. The best lies always involved some resemblance of truth. "I was involved in negotiations". Internally, Mizuki felt a small rush of relief. If it took so much as a second longer to find the right substitute word in "negotiations", she may have given herself away.
"As for meeting with the lords themselves, they prefer it if no more than three outsiders at a time enter their headquarters. That's me, one of the Earthbenders, and Xue. Xue's way of thinking is very much like the crime lords of these parts," she noted. "The rest of you stay on the ship. We won't be long".
edited 4th Nov '14 6:13:35 AM by JumpinJackFlash
Just a harmless giant from a foreign land.
Katsu nodded. "Given that you worked for them before, you are not worried about them backstabbing us?"
"You can reply to this Message!"
"We've given the Saltcliff Lords no reason to make us their enemies," Mizuki pointed out. "Besides, if the Lords backstab every person they work with, no one would trust them".
Just a harmless giant from a foreign land.
"Only if we survive it to spread the tale." Katsu pointed out.
"You can reply to this Message!"
"Ah, but there are nine more of our crew back at the ship, waiting for us to come back with the money."
huzzaaaaaaaah
Whilst the crew of the Sea Dragon talked about the future, the gentle notes of a liuqin would (possibly) bring them back to the present. Sitting next to the youngest member of the crew was the hooded Choden, the 'mystery' teenager who wasn't really a mystery. The story he had told the members of the Sea Dragon was partly true... he just left out the parts about him being an airbender. What with the fate his people had, it wasn't smart to flaunt such a fact in these dangerous times.
Yet there he was, in a pirate ship, humming along to the song he plucked form his liuqin, as if he was a gentle, easy-living nobleman who didn't have to deal with being wanted by pretty much all the nations. The tone of his voice was calm and happy, being more at place in the throat of a jokester or a bard at the local tavern. The browns and greys of the ragged clothes he wore mixed with the bits and pieces of orange and yellow from what was left of the robes his mother had sewn to him years ago, providing a small window into a different world, into a different life.
"Bright, bright, shines the moon," Choden sang, his eyes closed, letting the music guide him. It was cliche, yes, but if he stopped to actually focus on the instrument, he would lose all semblance of rhythm. That's just how he worked: he let the song take him wherever it wanted to take him. "Will it ever..." He stopped, opening one eye. "Will it ever... hm..." He closed his eye again, and got back to playing the instrument. "Will it ever be grasped?"
"If the Moon's shining bright, then that would make me Fire Lord Azulon's long lost daughter," quipped Mizuki as she glanced up at the clear blue sky. "Although I do like the sound those strings make when you pick them. Keep playing!"
edited 23rd Oct '14 5:15:52 AM by JumpinJackFlash
Wizard of science.
"How interesting." Xue said, giving the quartermaster his best smile, which looked more like a beast ready to pounce upon its prey. "I lived surrounded by folks that believed the same things as you did. I thought, for much of my younger years, that my study would help me understand the spirits. Yet, the more I learned... the less I saw them. It's quite odd how much they appear around those... not blessed by the gift of bountiful culture, is it not?"
huzzaaaaaaaah
"It's not supposed to— it's just a reference to— ah, forget it." Choden mumbled, trying to explain his choice of lyrics, going back to just playing his instrument. "Do you guys have any favorite songs? Maybe I can play 'em..."
Just a harmless giant from a foreign land.
"Do you know 'Dragons at Dawn'?" Katsu asked, remembering an old Fire Nation folk tune.
"You can reply to this Message!"
huzzaaaaaaaah
Choden raised an eyebrow, putting down his liuqin for a moment and digging into his backpack. "I have it here... somewhere." He grumbled, digging through parchment after parchment, before pulling out a partly burnt one. "Ah. Here. Although... it's only the notes." He put the paper down in front of him, plucking a few notes before smiling up at Katsu. "Care to provide the lyrics?" The teen asked as he started playing the tune.
edited 23rd Oct '14 7:29:23 AM by stratofarius
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It was Year 48 AG - the Year of the Dragon. It was a clear blue sky that high noon. The sea reflected the sky until both melted into one in the sunlight so that there seemed to be no horizon. Despite there still being no land in sight, the Sea Dragon kept its course towards the port of Basalt Bay - a major harbour in the south of the Earth Kingdom.
The Sea Dragon was a small sailing ship with two large semi-circular blue silk sails and a prominent black dragon figurehead in the front. It could be operated by either two people, or one skilled sailor. It had enough room in the cabin for up to twelve crew members. The Sea Dragon was built for speed, and was one of the fastest ships out there. It was a highly coveted ship that has cost its original owner - a rich merchant - many thousand gold pieces. Until it changed hands in a fateful game of dice with a wanted criminal, just three years before.
That criminal became the captain of the Sea Dragon. In the space of those three years, almost a dozen had come to join her for varying reasons. And yet, whatever those reasons, they all had a common purpose out in the high sea, in the business of bounty hunting, espionage, and smuggling - while on the run from both the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation. As you do.
The captain of the Sea Dragon was called Mizuki, a young waterbender at the age of twenty-four. She stood at the wheel of the ship, observing the tides and winds, and observing the flight of the lemming-gulls to chart the course towards Basalt Bay. The wind blew through her jet black hair, which rippled down from under her blue bandana below her shoulders. Her silver crescent earring swayed a little in the wind, its twinkle in the sunlight matching the twinkle in her wild opal eyes. Mizuki was dressed in a black cotton garb with a blue silk sash wrapped around her thin waist, light-grey pants, and black leather working boots. She cut a lean figure at the height of 5"6.
Mizuki peered from over the wheel of the ship and saw her crew members on deck, taking it easy. She smiled a little, feeling content that her crew were getting a much deserved rest from their previous task of breaking a man in his senior years out of a Fire Nation prison. That man went by the name of Zhu Heiyaoshi. He was a scholar and advisor to a criminal circuit called The Saltcliff Lords, one of the most powerful criminal orginisations in the Earth Kingdom. There was a handsome reward to whoever brought Heiyaoshi back alive and unharmed. He resided in the cargo hold of the Sea Dragon for the duration of the trip back to Basalt Bay.